This invention relates to liquid level sensor, in particular, the use of a conductance measuring sensor to determine the level of a conductive liquid contained within a vessel.
The use of devices to indicate the level of liquid within a tank or container is well known in the art. The need for knowing whether a liquid in a container is above or below a predetermined level is found in a many very different situations. Typical of those situations where the liquid level must not be permitted to fall below a predetermined level are found in automobile radiators, windshield washer containers or oil in an engine crankcase. The situation where the level can be too high is also common such as found with a recreational vehicle holding tank. Applications for such equipment is also found in industry where frequently the liquid in question is extremely corrosive as experienced with chemical reagent reservoirs which must be filled once the chemical has fallen below a particular amount in order to keep a process running.
A typical float-type of liquid level sensor is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,386,337, issued to Todd on May 31, 1983. This device is said to be useful for measuring the level of oil in an engine crankcase or transmission fluid in a reservoir. An electrically conductive float disposed within an encapsulator and movably responsive to the liquid level is provided. This movement is then determined. The problem associated with sludge buildup resulting in shorts bypassing the proper electrical pathways is not directly discussed. While Todd does suggest that by having his encapsulator with open upper and lower ends provides for self-flushing of debris, it is unclear how this can inhibit or stop the problems associated with residue formation, particularly as found in older systems.
The type of devices used to measure the liquid level also varies substantially. The use of floats, changes in capacitance, optical readers, weight measurements of the liquid are just a few examples of techniques that have been adopted to serve as an indicator of the surface level of a liquid. Some devices have attempted to utilize non-invasive measures, that is, a sensor that is outside of the liquid container.
Representative of this genre is U.S. Pat. No. 4,749,988, issued to Berman et al. on Jun. 7, 1988. The ""988 discloses the use of a pair of conductive band electrodes oriented in parallel so that the gap between the electrodes corresponds to the liquid surface level to be measured. The change in capacitance between the electrodes as the liquid level rises and falls serves as the indicator. While this device solves the corrosive problem found in processing industries using materials in liquid form, its use is limited to containment vessels which have sufficient outside room to put the sensor in place. Further, this type of sensor is expensive to manufacture in that it must be shaped to correspond to the particular shape of the vessel being used. Also, the thickness and material used for the vessel can also appreciably impact the accuracy and sensitivity of the device. Whether this will also solve the problem of residue buildup on the inside of he container is not know as Berman et al. does not discuss this issue.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,315,872, issued to Moser on May 31, 1994, discloses a liquid level sensor for an electrically conductive liquid. The device requires the use of an electrically conductive material for constructing the tank. Thus, many common used containers are unsuitable for use with this device without having substantial additional expense. A voltage source supplies an electrical charge to the tank walls, with ground potential being supplied to the liquid contain therein. The capacitance between the tank walls and liquid varies with the volume of liquid in the tank. The problem of false xe2x80x9cfullxe2x80x9d readings is not discussed.
One of the potentially simplest and least expensive methods for the measurement of the level of a liquid is the use of an electrically conductive liquid as a part of a resistive circuit to ascertain the level. Representative of this genre is found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,277,773, issued to Blatnik on Jul. 7, 1981. This reference discloses a device for measuring the level of cooling liquid within a radiator. The radiator is grounded and an insulated probe is installed in the radiator and measures the level via interconnecting the sensor with ground to obtain a conductivity measurement. A second sensor is provided to measure a hot liquid level in the same manner. While this device is simple and inexpensive to build, no protection against false xe2x80x9cfullxe2x80x9d readings due to the accumulation of conductive sludge or other residue is disclosed or suggested.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,719,556, issued to Albin et al. on Feb. 17, 1998, discloses still another variation of the a liquid level sensor that utilizes the measurement of resistance as an indicator. Albin et al. do recognize the problem of shorts from the sensor tip to ground via a conductive path through sludge. However, the inventors claim that merely insulting the sensing rods except at the tip will eliminate this problem. Further, their device is quite complicated and expensive requiring the use of alternating current, an oscillator, and filters as well as other circuitry in order to achieve their objectives.
Therefore, a simple conductive-type of liquid level sensor for conductive fluids that is easy and inexpensive to manufacture, can be attached in a variety of tanks and containers without substantial modification of those tanks and prevents false xe2x80x9cfullxe2x80x9d indications due residue buildup is not found in the prior art.
It is an aspect of the invention to provide a liquid level sensor that prevents false xe2x80x9cfullxe2x80x9d indications due to the buildup of residue on the inside of the container.
It is another aspect of the invention to provide a liquid level sensor that provides a bias ring that is electrically charged the same polarity as the tip of the probe of the sensor so as to prevent a current path being established between probe tip and ground via any residue buildup on the probe and inside of the container.
It is an aspect of the invention to provide a liquid level sensor that can be used with any conductive liquid that has a level that needs to be determined.
It is still another aspect of the invention to provide a liquid level sensor that can be inexpensively manufactured.
Another aspect of the invention is to provide a liquid level sensor which is a conductive-type of design.
It is an aspect of the invention to provide a liquid level sensor that can be used where the liquid and its container are not preferably in contact with an electrical ground.
Finally, it is an aspect of the invention to provide a liquid level sensor that work equally as well in conductive liquid situations which are either positively or negatively grounded by correspondingly adjusting the bias voltage of the probe bias ring.
The invention is a liquid level sensor apparatus for determining the level of a conductive liquid held within a container having inside walls, one of which is an attachment wall. The container is subject to the accumulation of residue as a consequence of the liquid contained therein. A first housing which is attached to attachment wall of the container is provided. An insulated probe having an attachment end and a sensor end is also provided. The attachment end of said insulated probe is connected to said first housing such that the probe end is able to contact the conductive liquid held therein at a first predetermined level. A conducting sensor tip having a voltage is disposed at the probe end of said insulated probe. A ground connection having an electrical polarity is connected to the conductive liquid. A circumferential ring is attached around said insulated probe adjacent to the attachment end of said insulating probe. A bias voltage having the opposite polarity of said ground connection and having a voltage that corresponds to the voltage of said conducting sensor tip is applied to said circumferential ring. Once the liquid is in contact with said conducting sensor tip at the first predetermined level, a circuit is completed to said ground connection which indicates a xe2x80x9cfullxe2x80x9d condition. If the liquid is not in contact with said conducting sensor tip at the predetermined level, a xe2x80x9cnot fullxe2x80x9d condition is indicated. The bias voltage on said circumferential ring prevents a false indication of a xe2x80x9cfullxe2x80x9d condition by preventing the completion of circuit from said conducting sensor tip to said ground connection via residue on the container walls and said insulated probe even when the liquid is not in contact with said conducting sensor tip.